3/27/2007Todd DeVriese Named Director of School of Art

Interim Dean of the College of Visual & Performing Arts, Jonathan Marks announced today that Professor Todd DeVriese has accepted the position of Director of the School of Art, which he will assume at the beginning of the fall semester.

Professor DeVriese has been serving as Chair of the Art and Design Department since 2001, and served as Interim Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences in 2005 - 2006 at Zayed University in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He arrived there as Department Chair with a mandate to set up and develop a program in the area of fine art and design for the first national university for women. His accomplishments over the five years there have been remarkable. “I am pleased that I was able to build harmonious relationships across the university with a faculty from over thirty-five countries, and have had the opportunity to teach and interact with students from across diverse educational and linguistic backgrounds,” comments DeVriese.

DeVriese has a BFA and an MS in Painting and Printmaking from Illinois State University and an MFA in Printmaking from the Ohio State University. DeVriese has served on the Global Connections Task Force as well as the Resource Development Task Force for the International Council of Fine Art Deans.

With him Professor DeVriese will bring his spouse, Dr. Leila DeVriese, who has a BA from the American University in Cairo and an MA from the University of Toronto. She also holds an Interdisciplinary Doctorate (Political Science and Women & Gender Studies) from Concordia University in Montreal. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Zayed University.

Interim Dean Marks expressed his gratitude to the Director of the Search Committee, Associate Dean David Driskill from the School of Architecture, for his splendid work with the search committee, as well as all its members: Joe Arredondo, Director of Landmark Arts, Bill Ballenger, Director of the School of Music, Robin Germany, Associate Professor in Photography, Brian Steele, Associate Dean of the College of Visual & Performing Arts and Carla Tedeschi, Associate Professor in Communication Design. “I charged them with giving me a slate of excellent candidates while taking into account the interests of every constituency within the School, the College, the University, and the community, and that is precisely what they did. We’re all in their debt,” commented Marks.

Marks also thanked Tina Fuentes, who has served as Interim Director “with such grace and wisdom, and I’m sure will continue to do so right up until Todd takes over.” He added, “ Prof. Fuentes has been a treasure for the School of Art and for me, and Director DeVriese and all of us will have benefited from her tireless service. The School of Art is all the better for her tenure at its helm.”